JERUSALEM

Note: This post is a day late due to woefully slow wifi….

Jerusalem is one of the oldest cities in the world and is considered holy to the three major religions – Judaism, Christianity and Islam. Both Israel and the Palestinian Authority claim Jerusalem as their city. Again, I am not an expert to try and explain this complicated situation.

Today was a very exhausting day, both physically and mentally. An intense day of reflection awaited us as we started our day. Our bus took us to a high vantage point (Mount of Olives) overlooking the city giving us a fantastic view of many of the tours highlights, the most prominent was the shimmering golden dome of The Dome of the Rock. While there, a shopping frenzy occurred as we all found great bargains of hats, shawls, religious articles, etc.

Next we visited the oldest olive trees with their gnarled trunks dating back millennia!

 

 

After visiting the Church of Anne (Virgin Mary’s mother) we started our walking tour. Luckily, the weather was still pleasant. The walk gradually inclined and one relative had to request for a wheelchair so she could continue the tour.

We went past the Lion Gate to start Via Dolorosa (The Way of the Cross) following in Jesus’ footsteps as He borne the cross to Calvary for his crucifixion.

There were dozens of tour groups from all over the world and this the high season in Jerusalem. Geva’s (our guide) major concern was keeping our group intact so he had to ask assistance every now and then for one of us to help him monitor the group and make sure no one goes astray.

We visited a couple of other places like the underground cistern and tried to get into a chapel but was closed. There were souvenir shops, juice store and restaurants on both sides of the narrow streets as we made our way to all the stations.

We had a lunch break around noon. The restaurant that Geva selected was located in a nice patio area. We wanted to eat a la carte so Trini asked the waiter/owner for the menu who rudely told her, “just sit down!” without any further explanation that there were options and not a set menu (which we later learned). The man either could not speak English or that is how he talks to every customer. Regardless, Trini responded back, “I am not sitting down nor will I eat in your restaurant”! So off we went across the street looking for another restaurant. By the way, we found one and the waiters and owner treated us decently than the other dude.

After lunch, we continued on to visit Jesus’ tomb at the Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre. The place was cavernous and the dimness inside with hints of fragrant incense wafting in the air added some mysticism to the solemnity of the place. We stood in line for more than two hours shuffling with the rest of the teeming humanity at a glacial pace. We alternated sitting along the narrow concrete benches along the wall of the tomb to rest our aching backs.

It was interesting to see that while you and hundreds of other pilgrims wait their turns for hours to touch Jesus’ tomb a few “lazy and inconsiderate” tourists cut in line. Patchie (who coordinated this trip) tactfully told a couple who made their way slowly beside me that we have our own group and that they could not “insert” themselves in. They were decent enough to back off and maybe tried to find a group that would take them as “asylum seekers” (just kidding).

At the mouth of the crypt’s entrance stood a couple of Christian Orthodox priests who “encouraged” you to move along to keep the long queue moving.

After the Holy Sepulchre everyone needed a break so off we went in search of a coffee shop that could accommodate all 40 of us. Geva is the epitome of a diplomat/politician who can sweet talk everyone. We got into this small joints but was not enough for all of us so many sat in the benches under the trees in the square.

Next we walked to the Western Wall where we were able to witness an induction (?) of new military conscripts. Rows and rows of young male and female conscripts stood at attention while the speaker gave them a motivating speech (that’s how it sounded to me anyway).

After the umpteenth roll call and body counting of the day, the male and female parted ways to go to the Wailing Wall.